What are indicators of a healthy manager-employee relationship – and how do you achieve or improve them?
These relationships take root the moment a candidate signs on to your workforce, and they are the main drivers toward engagement, job satisfaction, retention, and ultimately optimal business performance.
- As noted by Harvard Business Review, companies with highly engaged employees outperform competitors whose workforces are less engaged by 89 percent in customer satisfaction and fourfold in revenue growth.
The Business Benefits
Not surprisingly, the most common signs of healthy manager-employee relationships often translate directly into improved business results. These signs include:
- Improved employee engagement: People are more willing to go the extra mile and deliver or exceed desired results, and they feel a strong sense of loyalty to their team and organization.
- Healthier work/life balance: Flexibility and schedule adaptability are key factors based on an understanding and acknowledgment of each individual’s needs.
- Higher productivity: Team members in healthy working relationships are more motivated to innovate and work together, resulting in improved performance and achievement of common goals.
- Better retention: Loyalty to the company often results in long-term commitments on the part of your best employees. As an added plus, they can serve as your best brand ambassadors, spreading the good word via their own networks.
It’s All About Trust
There are numerous ways to reach your goals around manager-employee relations, but they all boil down to two words: mutual trust. Teamwork, loyalty, innovation, safety, inclusion … virtually every key factor that contributes to business success is built upon this single concept.
Actionable trust-building steps in the workplace include:
- Getting to know each other: It all starts here. Managers should get to know each of their employees as the individuals they are – their strengths, weaknesses, preferences, differences, and similarities. It opens the door to empathy, motivation, and trust.
- Ongoing communication: This includes actively listening, setting clear expectations, facilitating two-way feedback, and being as transparent as possible about business developments and updates.
- Excellent training: Managers must position their employees for success, starting on day one. Nothing is more relationship-disrupting than leaving an employee to fend for themselves without the direction, tools, resources, or support they need to move forward.
- Professional development opportunities: In addition to robust training programs, offer career growth and opportunities right within your organization. Schedule regular sessions for managers to have related conversations with team members. Consider tuition assistance and similar benefits.
- Reward and recognition: Acknowledgement for a job well done is a basic human need. Have and uphold your commitment to Employee of the Month programs, performance-based bonuses or raises, and similar incentives.
Nowhere are manager-employees more critical than in the non-stop, ever-evolving world of healthcare, where success can literally be a matter of life and death. As you build the healthiest possible team, turn to AlliedUP Co-op as your source for the best allied, nursing, and support professionals in California and nationwide. Reach out to us today to learn more.
